Frozen raspberries cool down hot oatmeal

Alisa's hack will put a dent in your frozen berry stash:

My 16-month-old daughter loves oatmeal for breakfast. But she's really impatient - I make the real deal, which takes a whole ... what, five minutes to prepare?  Add 'cooling off' time, and she's screetching in my ear before I've even had coffee.  My solution (which I discovered by accident) is to add frozen raspberries to the hot oatmeal.  They not only add sweetness, but cool the bowl down immediately -- after I stir them in and mash them a little.  Bonus:  the hot oatmeal defrosts the raspberries, too. [And the oatmeal turns pink! If your kid's not a berry fan, my old friend Judie suggests adding an ice cube. Same effect with no flavor. -- Ed]

Related:
Noodad's Easy Mac hack
Cool down hot pasta with cold pasta sauce

Comments

[Duane]

I like it. It works in reverse too, although summer is coming to a close - if you've just made a jug of KoolAid (or whatever) and it's not quite cold yet? Dunk a popsicle in it. Kids can alternately, drink, or periodically take the rapidly melting popsicle and suck on that instead.

Around Christmas time, by the way, try stirring hot chocolate with a candy cane. Delicious.

This comment brought to you by the Society For Melting Things In Other Things.

P.S. Asha did you really just tell us that adding an ice cube to hot things makes them colder? That's funny :).

[kelly]

I make the old-fashioned oatmeal a lot too and sometimes remember to put the girl's bowl in the freezer when I start. By the time it's ready to put the hot oatmeal in, the dish is cold enough to help cool it down.

[Parent Hacks Editor]

Duane: You heard it here first! ADDING FROZEN THINGS TO HOT THINGS REDUCES TEMP OF SAID HOT THINGS. I went to college and got a degree, and I'm a professional writer, so you know, don't mess with me.

[Sandy]

Well seeing this I had to relate what my kid did a couple nights ago. We were at a Thai restaurant and he could not wait to eat the chicken satay. First bite was too hot. The 3 yo tyke just dipped it in his cup of Sprite and stuck it right back in his mouth. He said it was "nicer now." I guess the Sprite added some additional flavor as well! LOL

[Karen]

Duane, I want to join your society. Even though neither of my ideas involves melting. Here they are:

To cool down Spaghettios, add a big spoonful of cold plain yogurt. The tomato/yogurt combination may seem weird, but just think of chicken tikka marsala!

Then, if you need to cool off some more Spaghettios, or make the same Spaghettios even cooler, throw in some frozen peas.

As you can see, I love Spaghettios and consider them practically a hack in themselves.

[momo3]

My kids like frozen blueberries and are partial to Trader Joe's wild blueberries (they're smaller). I think peas could do wonders for many savory dishes.

[momo3]

My kids like frozen blueberries and are partial to Trader Joe's wild blueberries (they're smaller). I think peas could do wonders for many savory dishes.

[Fiona]

I used to make my kids baby food and had lots of pureed fruit frozen in ice cube trays. When they started eating regular oatmeal, I started adding the cubes I had left over to cool down their oatmeal. Years later, now they have peach, plum, strawberry, apple, etc. Great to have around for smoothies too.

[alisa]

"The Society For Melting Things In Other Things."

HA! This made my spit coffee all over my keyboard. (Now where's that keyboard/dishwasher hack again ...?)

[Duane]

:) Thanks Alisa, though I have to give credit to Monty Python for the original "Society for Putting Things On Top Of Other Things" reference :).

-d

[kittenpie]

I just pour some cold milk in and stir it around to cool off and, you know, add some more milk into the diet.

[Becky]

I used this hack this morning and the kids loved it! It was Cream of Wheat (very high in iron) and raspberries (Vitamin C). A great combo...Thanks!